Blame it on September
by Baby Porcupine-Cute but DEADLY
Summary: Based on the song by Allstar Weekend. Grace's best friend Kim moves to Seaford for the summer, and she and Jack meet for the first time.


**I love this song! ^v^ I was actually going to do this at the beginning of the summer, but___…_ meh. Kiara's not in this fic, unfortunately.**

**Kiara:** But I am here helping from the sidelines!

**Yes___… _yes you are.**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kickin' It, Allstar Weekend, or _'Blame It On September'_

* * *

**_June 23rd_**

"Hey, you guys, let's go skateboarding!" Milton suddenly suggests.

"Are you just saying that because someone beat you at every single game you've played?" Jerry says, smirking and sending Milton a smug look even as he attacks Eddie's character unceasingly. Eddie frowns, trying unsuccessfully to move away from Jerry's player.

"No," Milton scoffs, but you can tell that's the reason why. I roll my eyes, chuckling.

It's a hot summer afternoon. The guys and I are chilling at Jerry's place, playing video games and pigging out as we take advantage of the fact that his parents were on a business trip and wouldn't be home for five days and that school let out two about two weeks ago.

Suddenly, the sound of two muffled female screams is heard. I sit up abruptly, looking around, "Did you guys hear that?"

Milton, Eddie, and Jerry all seem both unsurprised and unconcerned. "Calm down, that probably means Grace's best friend from Tennessee is here and they just saw each other in the flesh," Milton says.

I blink. "Best friend from Tennessee?"

"Yeah, she moved down here from Tennessee when she was little, and then moved back up there three or four years ago," Jerry explains. "They Skype all the time, but Grace says it's not the same, so they planned to meet up this summer."

"When_—_"___  
_

"Hah! I got you!" Eddie brags, interrupting me as he prides himself on the way he just landed a major hit combo on Jerry. The Latino's character is now slouching, and his health meter is blinking rapidly in warning. I roll my eyes again, not bothering to finish my question about Jerry's girlfriend's best friend.

Jerry laughs. "Oh, Eddie. My dear friend. You actually thought for a second that you had me." He holds out his controller in one hand, and raises the other high above his head. He pauses for dramatic effect, then brings his hand down and presses the 'Y' button. His character is suddenly wielding a bazooka. Eddie's jaw drops as he watches.

The screen lights up for a few brief seconds. When the brightness disappears, the defeated character's lower half falls to the ground, his upper body having been obliterated.

_"YOU JUST GOT SERVED!" _a man's voice exclaims loudly before laughing.

"WHOOOOO! That's what I'm talking about!" Jerry crows, dropping the controller on the couch and holding his arms out in a _'How awesome am I?' _way.

"But___… _b-but___…_" Eddie sputters in disbelief. Jerry pats his shoulder in faux sympathy.

"Ya can't beat the swag-master, man," he says.

Eddie winces as the screen replays his character's death over and over again. "Okay. We're going skateboarding now."

We walk out of the house with Jerry cackling loudly. "Oh man, you should have seen your face!" he exclaims. I notice a girl walking out of the house next to us, Grace's house, and I pause a few feet away from the front of Jerry's porch. She flashes me a brief smile before walking over to an unfamiliar car in Grace's driveway.

I stand there with a hand in my pocket (the other holding my skateboard), staring at what must be the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life. The very essence of summer itself seems tangled up in her golden locks, which cascade down her shoulders gracefully. She turns and smiles at me again, before turning around and opening the car door.

"What the—!" I exclaim, dropping my skateboard in surprise as Jerry and Eddie push me forward. I look back at them (with my feet continuing forward for some reason). Jerry encourages me with a little flick of the wrist meaning '_Go on, go!_', while Eddie flashes me a thumbs up and Milton stand there grinning like an idiot. I roll my eyes and face forward again, running a hand through my hair to fix it a little before arriving in front of her.

She turns around, probably hearing my footsteps. She smiles at me again, and my heart races even faster at the simple friendly gesture. "Hey."

Is that loud repetitive thudding really the sound of my heart? Oh god, I hope she can't hear it. That would be weird. Oh, right, she spoke to me. _'Say something, brain!' _

"Hey."

_'Hey? HEY?! There's a beautiful girl standing in front of you and all you can say is HEY?! And did your voice just shake a little?' _I scream at myself.

_'Well, to be fair, hey is exactly what she said, too,' _the other part of me says, defending me from___…_ myself. _'Ok, this internal conversation is officially over.'_

I hold out a hand, wanting to introduce myself. "I'm—"

"Hold on," she interrupts. I mentally freak. _'Did I say something wrong? I've only said two words! Did I DO something wrong? And why the heck am I so worried when I don't even know this girl?' _

"You're…" _'I'm what? Coming on too strong? I've barely said anything!' _"…Jack, right?"_  
_

_'Oh.'_

"Uh, yeah," I say dumbly. My hand has only been out for a few seconds, but it feels like a lifetime.

"I thought so," she says, smiling again as she grabs my hand and shakes it. "I'm Kim. Grace has told me about you guys." She motions to the three idiots on Grace's porch. _'Wait, when did they get over there?' _"The tallest one is her quote 'hot boyfriend Jerry,' the redhead is Milton, and the last one is Eddie."

"You're right," I respond, surprised. The surprise turns into mild self-consciousness. _'What has Grace said about me?' _

"Ooh, good, you've met Jack!" we hear said girl's voice say. We turn and see the brunette happily staring at the two of us, grinning madly. Something about her expression frightens me, and I unconsciously take a step back.

"Yeah___…_" I pick up on apprehension in the blonde's voice, and I guess she's picked up on the bad vibes I got from Grace as well. "Grace, I don't know what you're thinking, but I want no part of it."

Grace walks over, still grinning, and puts an arm around each of our shoulders as she starts walking us to her house. "You guys would be so cute together!"

My face suddenly feels uncomfortably warm, and I cough awkwardly into my fist. "Um___…_"

"Grace, I haven't even been here for a full minute and you're trying to set me up with someone," Kim laughs. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?"

_'Huh. So we're not the only ones Grace has played match-maker with,' _I think, amused. After all, she is the one that got Milton and Julie together, as well as Kelsey and Eddie. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately in this case) that left me as the only single one in our group of friends.

"Nope! Now, meet the other guys!" Grace introduces Milton, Eddie, and Jerry to Kim. I break away from Grace's hold to sit on the swinging chair on her porch, watching the smiling blonde from afar.

* * *

"Hello, Jack," Mom says from the kitchen as I walk into the house.

"Hey, Mom," I reply absently, going into the kitchen and opening the fridge.

_'I wonder what Kim thought of me.' _

I grab an apple and munch on it, closing the fridge door. When I turn around, Mom is standing right there with a wooden spoon in her hand and a frown on her face.

Startled, my reflexes lash out. Mom, knowing me very well, blocks the punch with her spoon.

"Sorry, Mom…" I swallow the piece of apple in my mouth. "Please don't scare me like that."

She doesn't respond staring at me intently.

I take another bite of my apple, trying to give myself something to do so I don't squirm underneath her scrutinizing gaze. _'Does she know about the detention I got last week? That wasn't my fault! Stupid Frank had it coming! You don't break my skateboard and get away with it!'_

She grabs my chin, forcing my face to first one side, and then the other. When she releases me, she's grinning like a madman (madwoman?).

"You met a girl!"

I choke on the apple in my mouth.

_'What the fudge?!'_

"Is she pretty? Do I know her? What's she like?" She hugs me fiercely. "Oh, my little black belt is growing up!"

She proceeds to force me to tell her everything about my meeting with this 'girl' that she somehow figured out that I met.

* * *

_**June 30th**_

A week later, we're in Grace's living room playing Truth or Dare, which is a very dangerous game when it comes to my friends. So far, hot sauce has been downed, a bed-wetter has been exposed, a saltine cracker has been shoved in someone's mouth after they refused to eat it, and lots lots more.

It's Jerry's turn to pick someone, and he turns to me, smirking. "Jack!"

I shudder. _'M__aybe I went a little too far shoving the cracker in his mouth, but still! Can't he just forget about the fact that he saw his Nana in a bikini while eating saltine crackers? Seriously. There's nothing to be afraid of.'_

"Pick your poison, my friend," he continues. '_Urg, h__e knows me too well.'_ He knows that I'm gonna pick dare. He just knows it. The only reason I never pick truth is because I'm afraid one of the guys is going to ask about my necklace (even though I'm not sure they've ever noticed it because it's always under my shirt) or my dad, both of which I never want to talk about.

I sigh. "You know what I'm going to choose, Jerry."

"Great!"

His enthusiasm scares me.

He goes into Grace's kitchen, opens the fridge, and rummages around for a bit. I catch a whiff of the worst smell in the world, and I gag. _'Oh no. Anything but that.'_

Sadly, what I'm fearing is exactly what he brings out, for there on a white plate is a hunk of blue cheese. I cover my nose, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Ah, ah, ah, Jack. Move that hand from your mouth!" Jerry says evilly. I can tell he's enjoying every minute of this. I open my eyes and slowly comply. He moves closer, and I move away.

"Jack. I dare your to sit here for exactly five minutes with this blue cheese in your shirt pocket."

I grimace, while Kim curiously looks on, being the only one in the room that doesn't know how much I hate blue cheese. "What's so bad about blue cheese?"

"I can't stand the smell of it," I groan, reaching a shaky hand out to grab the vile food off of the plate. As soon as my hand makes contact, I gag again and hold my breath. _'Don't throw up… don't throw up…'_

"You can hold your breath, Jack, but even I know you can't for a full five minutes." He smirks at me and I glare at him, trying to burn a hole in his head with my gaze as I slip the food into my shirt pocket. He starts a timer on his phone and sets in in front of me.

_'I will hold my breath for as long as I have to,' _I silently vow. My eyes widen as I realize something.

_'How do I choose who to challenge?'_`

I frown, pursing my lips. I lock gazes with Kelsey and jerk my chin up. She stares at me, confused, and I take my phone out of my pocket and send her a text.

_'If you choose dare, then I'll dare you to get revenge on Jerry for throwing away all of your makeup last week.'_

As soon as she gets the text, she grins and looks up at the oblivious Latino.

About a minute later, my lungs are burning and Jerry has his underwear over his head. He removes them, groaning something about Kelsey's "technique", before glancing over at me and smirking. "Yo, Jack, how are you doing over there?"

I glare at him. _'Why would you ask that, you—'_

"Ok, I guess." He shrugs.

Jerry moves on, choosing Kim. She selects truth and he asks if it's true that she once broke a teacher's hand for being perverted.

Kim briefly scowls at Grace before her expression turns sheepish. "Yeah, I___…_"

I block out the rest of her reply as I close my eyes and focus on not letting go of my breath. _' I will not throw up in front of Kim. No, no, no.' _When I start to feel a little light-headed, I open my eyes and glance at the timer.

_00:02:31_

_00:02:30_

_00:02:29____…_

Ugh. I still have two and a half minutes left. _'Can I last that long?'_

The dizziness I'm feeling is telling me no.

"Jack? Are you ok?" I hear a concerned voice ask. I look over and see Kim's worried face. "You're not looking so good."

I give her weak nod. She frowns, but doesn't say anything else.

"Jack that's really not a good idea," Julie states. "You should—"

Everything suddenly goes black.

.

..

...

...

...

..

.

Someone is running their fingers through my hair, gently scratching my scalp. My mom used to do that all the time when I was little, because it would always get me to fall asleep. I'm about to drift off again as a result of my grogginess and whoever is rubbing my head when I hear my name being spoken.

"Are you sure that Jack is gonna be okay?" a girl's voice asks.

_'Kim_…_____'_ I think.

"Yeah, he should wake up any second," Milton's voice reassures.

"… I feel so guilty," Jerry states.

"You should," Grace scolds. "You know how he gets with blue cheese!"

"He knows how I get with saltine crackers!" Jerry responds, defending himself.

"What's the big deal about saltine crackers?" Kelsey asks.

"They're linked with a bad memory," Eddie answers.

Jerry makes a sound that suggests he had shuddered. _"Necesario que se ponga una bata, Nana," _he whispers.

"Well, while you simply remember that memory and feel horrified for, what, five minutes?" Milton says. "Jack is throwing up and feeling nauseated for at least an hour. I wonder which one is worse…"

"Dude, do you seriously need to think about that?" Jerry asks, confused. "It's obvious that Jack is worse."

"He was being sarcastic," Grace says patiently.

"Who knows? Maybe he's got this big secret behind him hating blue cheese," Kelsey giggles, always one for gossip. "Hey! What if we play a game that involves figuring out Jack's secrets? Because I swear, that boy is hiding more than my little brother is hiding underneath his bed."

_'Woah. Kelsey is smarter than I give her credit for…,' _I think.

"What are you talking about?" Eddie inquires of his girlfriend.

"The week of June 16th," she says, referring to two weeks ago. "Father's Day. Jack wasn't seen that whole week."

_'Eyes! Open so I can end this conversation!'_

"So? He was sick," Milton responds.

"That's what he said." She barrels on before anyone has time to digest that. "Next is his necklace—"

A whine slips out of my mouth before I can take it back when Kim's hand stills on my head, and she makes a sound of surprise.

"You guys! I think he's waking up!"

_'That sound will never ever exit my mouth ever again,' _I silently promise, as I let my eyes flutter open. I squint for a few seconds as they adjust to the light of the room, and then Kim's face above mine comes into focus.

"Hey," I say, surprised by the brief dizziness that washes over me.

"You okay?" she asks, concerned.

"Yeah… m'fine."

Grace hits the back of Jerry's head, prompting a yelp of pain and a quick apology to me. I chuckle and apologize back, sitting up from Kim's lap, and we continue our evening.

No one mentions my necklace.

* * *

_**July 4th**_

_'Happy 4th of July!' _

the banner stung up above the entrance of the Seaford Fun Park says. The park was open to the public on the holiday, unlike most other stores in the city of Seaford which had closed.

Entry ticket prices had been lowered to $1 for the day, and all the rides and booths were free to enjoy as a part of the city-wide picnic that would be held to celebrate.

Grace decides this is the perfect opportunity to introduce Kim to the Seaford Fun Park. EVERYONE is coming; the guys and their families (Jerry's parents came back early), their girlfriends and their families, and lots more people.

My friends and I had all been hanging out either at Grace's house or Jerry's for the past few days, Kelsey and Julie included, and I found myself unconsciously storing away every single new piece of information I learned about Kim; she's a second degree black-belt, she's really bad at dancing, she loves Ricky Weaver, etc.

I really have no idea what she's doing to me. It's like every time I'm around her (which is a lot) I just…

Ugh! I have no idea how to describe it, and it's frustrating because I've never experienced it before, never felt it around any girl before.

My mom claims I'm in love, which is impossible because… well, there's a reason, I just haven't found it yet. There's no way I'm in love with Kim…

…is there?

_'This is driving me nuts. I have to—'_

"—alright Jack?"

"Hmm?" I ask, snapping back to attention. _'Huh. When did I stop listening?'_

"I said that I'm going to go find Milton's mother," Mom says. She stares at me for a second before smiling. "You'll be able to find your friends on your own, right?"

I nod. "You can go. It's ok."

_'It's not like I'm a baby.'_

"Ok, text me when you're ready to go."

"Ok."

She waves and then walks away, leaving me standing there on my own.

I'm pondering where Milton might be (his parents were part of the decorating committee for the park) when I hear my name being called. I turn towards the source and see Kim and Grace approaching, dragging Jerry behind them. An emotion swells up inside me when I see Jerry's hand in hers as she helps Grace pull him along, and I'm shocked when I identify it as jealousy.

"Jack! You're here!" Kim says, a wide smile on her face. I never thought anyone could look so amazing in a simple American flag tank top and blue jeans, and yet there she is.

I shrug. "There's no way I could possibly miss this."

"Milton and Julie are at some IQ booth, and Kelsey dragged Eddie off to some karaoke thing," Grace states, explaining there whereabouts of our friends.

"There!" Jerry exclaims, sounding exasperated. "We found Jack! Kim won't be all alone! Can we go do our thing now?"

Grace rolls her eyes. "Sure, whatever." She flashes me a mischievous look.

_'Should I fear what she's probably planning?'_

"See you guys later." She walks away with Jerry.

"Ooh! Let's go to that booth!" Kim exclaims, grabbing my hand and leading me through the crowd. I try not to blush at the contact, feeling like an absolute girl. _'She's just holding your hand. It's not a big deal.' _

She navigates to a ring toss booth. There's a ton of clear white bottles on a table, and a bigger green one in the center. The man at the booth hands Kim four red rings that are each about three inches in diameter and wishes her good luck.

Kim tosses a ring. It bounces off the side of the green bottle and falls onto the neck of a white one right next to it. She growls, and I laugh. She turns to me.

"You think it's so funny?" she asks, a playful glint in her eye. "Why don't you try?"

She hands me a ring. I roll my eyes and focus on my target. _'Aim… toss!' _

The ring lands on the same one hers did.

"Well, that's something you don't see everyday," the man in charge of the booth says, smiling in amusement.

Kim throws the third and fourth rings, one of them landing on a bottle three bottles away from the green one, the other falling in between two other ones and not landing on either.

The man motions to the rack of white plastic ball things about the size of baseballs that you can't see inside of. She chooses a random one and he tosses it to her.

We start walking in a random direction as Kim starts a conversation about the time her dog started jumping on her bed. The whole time she's messing absentmindedly with the plastic ball, but at one point she frowns and concentrates on getting it open.

"You need help with that?" I tease lightly.

"Of course not," she mock scoffs. "I—" She cuts herself open by getting the ball to open a crack with a small 'pop.' She smirks at me and pries it open all the way.

Inside is a striped blue and black string bracelet with a spherical mood bead sort of thing on it. She takes it out and gently grabs my wrist. My heartbeat speeds up at the contact.

"What are you doing?" I ask, trying and failing to pull off a joking tone. My voice betrays my nervousness. _'__I mean, what's with the sudden change? One minute she's all smirking and sure of herself, the next she's all quiet and gentle. Did I do or say something?'_

"Let me put it on your wrist," she replies softly. I realize that she doesn't have to speak loudly to be heard because we've wandered away from all the lights and loudness of the booths and rides and towards a quieter corner of the park.

I stop walking in the middle of a bridge that crosses halfway over a lake that the park is built around. On the other end of the bridge is a gazebo bathed in soft light. Two American flags are stationed on either side of the entrance to the gazebo in honor of the holiday. Right in the middle of the lake is a large-ish gazebo, bathed in soft lights. The water laps gently against the parts of the bridge that are submerged.

I make my hand into a sort of spearhead shape. "Why?"

She slides the bracelet onto my wrist, letting my question go unanswered. The bead immediately changes to a bright purple color.

"Kim?" I murmur. She looks up at me, and though we're out of range of any light that the gazebo or the park might offer, the moonlight makes her face glow. I brush a small lock of her hair away from her eyes.

_'Beautiful__…'_ I think. A light pink suddenly tinges her cheeks, and she looks away from me.

"Thank you…"

I realize with embarrassment that I had voiced my thoughts aloud. But, before I can explain that, she says,

"No guy has ever called me that before… it's always 'hey, you're hot' or something like that and I just_… _I just find it demeaning." She seems really soft-spoken about the topic.

"Well, you are," I respond. "Beautiful, I mean." I don't really believe in calling girls 'hot'; I think it's degrading. Apparently Kim feels the same way.

"You're… enchanting," I continue, stepping forward as I grab her hand and press my lips to the back of it. I smile when I hear a small laugh. I let go of her hand and slip mine underneath the golden curtain of her hair, cupping her cheek and parting my fingers around her ear as I gently turn her face towards mine.

"…angelic…" A kiss on the forehead.

"…radiant…" A kiss on the nose.

"…exquisite…" A kiss on the cheek.

I move upwards a little and rest my forehead against hers, my arms slipping around her waist and pulling her closer. My mouth brushes ever-so-lightly against hers as I whisper the last word.

"_**Beautiful.**_"

I hear her breath hitch. I move away, ready to back off in case I was being too forward or something. Her hand shoots up and buries itself in my hair, halting my retreat and gently yanking my head forward again.

I pause in momentary surprise, eyes wide as hers close and her other hand hooks onto my neck. Her body relaxes against mine. A split second later, I'm kissing her back.

I rub my lips over hers, nibble on them. I would have left it at that if she hadn't let out a little gasp that distracted me to no end. I tighten my hold on her, enjoying how she feels in my arms as I deepen the kiss.

A loud sound not unlike a gunshot startles us apart, and I realize it's just the fireworks starting. I laugh and look up at the sky, and then Kim laughs as well, and then we're both laughing. At what, exactly, I don't think that either of us knew, or that either of us cared.

Kim moves away from me when our laughter subsides, going over and sitting on the railing opposite where the fireworks are going off. She beckons for me to sit next to her, and I oblige.

She grabs my hand and places her head on my shoulder.

"Happy Fourth of July, Jack."

"Happy Fourth of July, Kim."

* * *

_**July 16th**_

"Don't go in there," Milton whispers, hugging the pillow to his chest as one of the three remaining main characters places his hand on the doorknob.

_"'Do you really think that's a good idea, TJ?'" _the remaining girl asks.

_"'Yeah, man!' "_ the second male character whines._ "'We don't know what happened to Riley, but I heard her screaming back there! The door closed right after her…'"_

_"'Well, we gotta find a way out of here,'" _'TJ' says. _"'If this is it and we walk right past it…'" _He takes a deep breath and throws the door open.

Inside is the missing 'Riley.' She turns around and her face transforms into a demon-like… something.

We scream. (All except for Kelsey, who sits there eating popcorn while fixated on the TV and who for some reason doesn't find the movie scary at all.)

The eight of us had gotten bored after a week of doing everything we could possibly think of, until Eddie's mom suggested a movie night. We had all thought it was a great idea, and each person was told to bring a movie. The one currently on right now is called _'The House in the Woods'_, and it was brought by Grace. _  
_

_" 'Riley! Ohmigod, what happened to you?!'" _the other girl cries. Riley pounces, elongated claws scratching at whatever they could find.

Kim buries most of her face into my shoulder, one eye peeking out so she could see the movie. I put an arm around her, pulling her closer. She looks up at me and smiles, before moving her attention back to the TV.

* * *

_**July 28th**_

"You guys ready?" Jerry whispers mischeviously.

"Oh yeah," I reply. "This is gonna be awesome."

Eddie simply nods, but Milton seems nervous. "Are you guys sure this is a good idea? I mean—"

"We know what you mean," Jerry interrupts. "But what are they gonna do?"

"You _know _what Grace can do when she's mad."

…

"Well…" Eddie looks down longingly at the many rolls of toilet paper in his arms. "He has a good point…"

"Aw, come on you guys, don't tell me you're backing down now," I tease. "How many times has Julie played a 'friendly' little prank on you?"

Milton purses his lips, thinking.

"Let's do it."

We walk around Grace's house and head into the backyard. The lights from her room shine through the curtains that hide the door leading out to her balcony. Music is heard coming from inside, where the girls are having their sleepover or slumber party or whatever it is they call it.

Jerry throws the first roll. It sails through the air, the toilet paper streaming out behind it like a banner flying across the sky. It lands on the balcony with a soft thud.

After that, the four of us are laughing and chucking the rolls as hard as we can, some of them landing in the bushes (*cough*Milton*cough).

The music stops after the eight one goes flying, hitting the door with a soft thud. The light outside turns on and the silhouette of one of the girls is seen standing up. Seconds later, one of them peeks through the curtains, but not enough of her face is showing to identify her. A perfectly aimed throw (courtesy of Jerry) hits the glass right in front of her face, and she squeaks loudly and lets the curtain fall.

The door opens, and the four girls come out. Throw the last of the rolls of them, laughing at their surprised cries and outrage. Jerry releases one of his famous 'Colombian War Chants' and bro hugs me, before the four of us run away and leave the girls on the balcony.

* * *

_**August 3rd**_

So after whole 'TPing Grace's house' thing, the guys and I had to clean up Grace's backyard (which took about three hours) and apologize to the girls. I'm pretty much trying to get back on Mom's good side, since she doesn't really appreciate getting a call from Grace's parents about what happened.

I offered to clean her car today, and Kim wanted to help (which was fine by me).

_'Hmm…' _I think, smirking as an idea comes to me while I watch Kim squat down by the bumper of the car and dip her sponge into the bucket.

_'You're a little too dry.' _

I spray her lightly with the hose, biting back a laugh at her gasp of shock. I focus back on rinsing my side of the car, pretending I didn't do anything, but that's kind of hard when the grin on my face refuses to go away.

She lets out a huff of indignation. Then…

_**Splat! **_

A sopping wet sponge is sliding down the side of my face. I playfully glare at her, with her smirking face and her hands on her hips and her beautiful wet golden-blonde hair and her wet shirt clinging—

_'Focus! She has just declared war!'_

"I accept your challenge!" I announce in a loud voice.

She scoffs, rolling her eyes. "'My challenge?' You're the one that spr— " She's cut off by her own scream as a blast of ice cold water hits her.

I laugh even louder, but then she grabs her bucket of soapy water and throws the water on me, successfully drenching me from head to toe.

_'No! My hair!' _I scream in my hair touching my previously bouncy brown locks. I fix a glare on her, and she coos.

"Aww, did I mess up little Jackie's hair?" she teases. "Is Jackie gonna cry?"

"That's it!" I lunge towards her, and she throws her head back and cackles before dancing backwards out of my reach.

"Jackie gonna get me now?"

"Come 'ere!"

"No!"

We engage in a brief chase around the car before I finally get her. I grab her around the waist and she squeals, but doesn't try to struggle away.

"Think you can mess up my hair, hmm?" I murmur in her hair. "You know how long it took me to get it perfect?"

"Oh, you'll get over it," she chuckles. I turn her around and fix a smoldering stare on her, holding the sides of her face in my hands so she can't look away.

"What if I don't?"

Her eyes widen, and her amused smile fades. I lean down and capture her lips in a searing kiss. She places her hands on my shoulders and moves even closer somehow, and all I can think of is her; her hands, gently tugging on my hair, her body pressing flush against mine, her wet locks running water all over my hands, her _everything._

She breaks away to take a breath, which is a good thing because I probably wouldn't have remembered to.

"Woah," she whispers staring up at me with those beautiful brown eyes. Beautiful brown eyes above a perky little nose above a perfect pair of lips… mmm…

"Yeah," I respond just as quietly, before leaning in again.

* * *

_**August 27th**_

"Sneaking away again, are we?"

Kim and I turn around, embarrassed to see Joan standing there with her hands on her hips. She had said 'again' because us sneaking away had happened on more than one occasion, and not just at the dojo; movie night (the second one we had), having fun at the Seaford Fun Park, or even just generally hanging out. I remember them laughing every time it happened.

"Uh… it's not what it looks like?" Kim says.

"Really?" the security guard asks. "Because it looks like you two are taking advantage of the fact that that monkey from the zoo found Rudy again and is determined to get revenge."

"…well, when you put it like that, it's exactly what it looks like," I say. Kim sends me a 'really?!' look, and I shrug. "It's not exactly sneaking, anyway. Kelsey, Milton, Julie, and Grace all left earlier."

Joan chuckles, then winces at the sound of angry monkey chatter, Rudy's yelling, Jerry's frantic Spanish, and Eddie trying (and failing miserably) to make monkey sounds that would hopefully actually have some meaning and make the primate calmer. "It sounds pretty bad in there."

I turn around just in time to see the monkey drop the broken bo staff it was holding, leap onto Rudy's face, and start ripping out his hair. Said sensei starts screaming running around like a chicken with it's head cut off.

_'Why is that thing so mad at him anyways?'_

"You guys go ahead," Joan says, grabbing her police baton. "This is gonna get ugly."

Kim and I watch as she opens the door to the dojo, stands at the doorway for a second, before running towards the situation with a battle cry…

…only to get hit in the head with a wooden chair.

She drops like a brick. Jerry's (who is the one that threw the chair, meaning to hit the monkey) loud and very unmanly squeal is heard, and he and Eddie rush over to her. Horrified, Rudy goes to help her as well, only to get tackled by the monkey again. It sits on his back and starts beating his shoulders.

"…should we go in there?" I ask.

"I like my hair, thank you very much," Kim responds. But, she calls 911 and explains the situation (is it just me or did the responder just laugh?) and they start on their way.

With that out of the way, we wander out of the mall and eventually somehow end up walking along the edge of the Seaford cliff.

"I'm leaving next month," she suddenly blurts out, after a while of companionable silence. I stop dead.

"Wh-what?"

"On the first," she continues, stopping as well.

I feel the breath whoosh out of me. I know she has to leave at some point; this isn't her life. It's a vacation. But still…

"I don't wanna leave," she says softly, coming closer and hiding her face in my chest as buries her face in the crook between my shoulder and my head.

"And I don't want you to leave," I murmur in response. _'I want you to stay here and never leave me.'_

"I don't have anything waiting for me back home."

I frown. "What do you mean by that? Don't you have your parents?"

She scoffs, breaking the hug and turning away from me, facing the sun. "They don't care," she says bitterly. "The only reason they let me come here was because they planned a cruise for the summer and Mom was afraid I'd jack up the house if I was home alone."

She sits down on the cliff edge, hugging her knees to her chest. I sit down next to her, starting to put move my arm to put it around her shoulder, but stopping halfway, unsure.

"I don't have any friends. I don't know why. I mean, I'm a likeable person, right? I try to be likeable, be pleasant and not get into too much trouble. I know I'm not the best looking girl in the world—"

"You are the most beautiful girl I've ever met, Kim," I say, meaning every word with all my heart. I know that sounds _really _cliché, but I want to show this girl how important she is to me. Sure, we've only known each other for about two months now, but still. How can she possibly doubt herself? Her hair alone is practically liquid gold that I want to run my fingers through all day.

She bites her lip. I reach over and gently grab her chin, turning her face towards me. She resists at first, but eventually lets me move her head. I use my thumb to pry her lip out from beneath her teeth.

"Why do you like me?"

"The short version or the five-thousand-different-adjectives-to-describe-jus t-your-nose version?"

That gets a smile out of her. "The short version."

"Because," I say simply, punctuating the word with a kiss on the forehead, "you're you."

* * *

**_September 3rd_**

I am blaming all of my heartbreak on the month of September.

The empty feeling I get in my chest as I help Kim pack is September's fault.

The reason that keep trying to distract her to delay her packing just a little bit longer is the result of September's arrival.

The reason I want to crawl into a hole and die as I watch her walk down to Grace's dad's car so he can take her to the airport is because of September.

September, September, September.

As much as we fought to hold on, August is gone.

I sit by the window, staring outside at the spot where the car had been just minutes before. Suddenly, I know what I want to do.

"Milton."

"Hmm?" the redhead says, perking up at the sound of his name. He had been reading before I called him. Milton and Jerry look up from their DS's as well.

"You have your leaner's permit, right?"

"Yeah…" I ignore the skepticism in his voice.

"Well, then, get your keys. We're going to the airport."

** 30 Minutes Later**

"Kim!" I call out, spotting her in the line to get on her plane and running over. Her gaze finds mine and her expression turns into one of confusion.

"Jack? What's wrong?"

"Nothing… I wanted to see you one last time."

"Jack." She sighs. "Please don't make this any harder—"

I interrupt her by kissing her, placing my hands on the small of her back. She kisses back, and I feel her hands rest on my sides. I want to hold her like this forever and—

"Come on! You're holding up the line!"

I pull away from her and glare at the man in a brown business suit a couple of people behind Kim. Before I can tell him where he can shove his opinion, the woman that allows people onto the plane tells him off.

"Hey! Business man! Don't make me tase you!"

Wide-eyed, the man retreats back into his place in line.

The woman smiles at Kim and I. "Go ahead, kids, finish up."

I nod in thanks and turn back to Kim. I lean down and kiss her again, trying to convey everything I possibly can into that one moment.

This is it. I don't know the next time I'll have her in my arms. I don't know whether I'll ever feel her soft lips on mine again. I don't know… I don't know a lot of things.

But I _do _know that I'm going to make these last moments with her count.

With that, I hold her even tighter. I feel her salty tears wetting my cheeks, and that brings me back from the bliss that our kiss had created. I pull away and use the pad of my thumb to wipe the offending liquid away.

An echoing voice announces the last call for Kim's flight.

"That's me," she says. "I gotta go… bye, Jack."

I press one last kiss against her forehead. "Bye, Kim."

I step out of her way. She grabs her suitcase. The woman checks her passport and her ticket, and then she's walking onto loading bridge. She looks back at me.

I wave.

She waves back.

Later, I'm standing by a large window. I place my hand on the glass and gaze sadly at her plane as it takes off into the air.

* * *

_I can still see you standing there,  
Summer tangled in your hair…_

* * *

**Well? What do you people think? This actually took a lot longer than I thought it would. I may add a scene or two, but it's not going to be continued, so… I hope you liked it!**

**Oops, forgot to mention that I got the idea for the last scene from the Big Time Rush episode Big Time Break Ups.**

**Until next time,**

**~BP**


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